Colca Canyon

---

---

After scouring the tour companies in Arequipa for a good deal on a Colca Canyon tour we decided to trust some of the Trip Advisor reviews and get in touch with a local private guide called Carlitos. After a few e-mails and a delicious meal in Crepissimo with Carlitos we decided on a 3 day 2 night tour to the canyon. From the moment Carlitos picked us up from Casa de Ana (30 minutes late...heart beat racing...we've been duped arrrggghhh!!) to the moment we left him 3 days later it was a true adventure and not a dull moment in sight!

We arrived at the Arequipa bus terminal to board the local bus to Cabanaconde with seconds to spare, which would have been fine if we hadn't had to pay to queue and pay the stupid terminal fee. The bus left and we weren't on it. "No problem" shrugged Carlitos and promptly ran towards a taxi shouting instructions which were incomprehensible to mine and Edd's terrible Spanish ears. We bundled ourselves into the taxi and started our pursuit of the bus! Laughing all the Carlitos never seemed worried that we wouldn't reach the bus so we just sat back and enjoyed the carnage. 10 minutes later and 20 near misses we were parallel with the bus. Carlitos waved the bus tickets at the driver and he duly smiled, nodded and pulled the bus over to the side of the road. Easy!

The 5 hour bus journey to Cabanaconde passed without any further mishaps and my pulse was allowed to return back to normal. We arrived in town at about 6pm and checked into the hostal where we would spend the night. Before dinner we had a wander around the town and tried the delicious hot drink being sold by the local street sellers. A honey, camomile, anis and local plant concoction warmed us through, which was welcomed as the temperature had dropped as the night had fallen. Dinner was a delicious 2 course meal of soup and lomo saltado with loads of vegetables - not always the case in South America they love meat and potatoes!

After a goods night sleep and a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs we set off into the Canyon. The views from the edge of the canyon were spectacular. Villages and hundreds if not thousands of terraces lined the sides of the canyons. It was hard to believe that the only way into the canyon was by walking or donkey...surely to have villages of this size you need vehicle access? Snow capped mountains and glaciers towered above the villages on the opposite side of the canyon, which made an already impressive view even more breathtaking.

At an altitude of 2300 everything takes a little bit more energy than we were used to. Good job the first day was nearly all down hill then...or was it?! About 2 hours in my knees were aching badly and I'd lost count of how many times i'd lost my footing on the loose rocks. The bottom couldn't come soon enough; I'd take uphill over this any day!

We stopped in one of the villages for a superb lunch of vegetable soup and alpaca stew. The first time we tried alpaca it felt wrong, but let me tell you it is delicious. The flavour is somewhere between steak and venison and it only contains half the fat of beef. Win, win in my book.

After lunch we set off for the next village where much to Edds delight I was able to dress up in the traditional dress of the local women. After many photographs I was finally allowed to remove it. Next up was fruit picking. We picked everything from avocados to oranges to lemon grass to apples. It was so much fun and the best bit was definitely eating the oranges straight off the trees. I've never tasted an orange so juicy and sweet. Edd of course got carried away and ate 10 or so.

Sadly we had to call an end to fruit picking so that we could carry on with our journey to the Oasis, which is a beautiful lush green area at the bottom of the canyon with lots of hostels with swimming pools. We arrived just before dusk and chilled out by the pool area until dinner. Carlitos so far had been an excellent, knowledgable and fun guide, but little did we know that Carlitos' piece de resistance was that he was a fully trained chef and he would be cooking our dinner tonight.

We gorged on vegetable and pumpkin soup, followed by guacalome, vegetables and chips. Already bursting out of our walking trousers he then served up bespoke desserts. Mine was a homebaked rice pudding whilst Edd feasted on a fruit salad for a family of 4. DELICIOUS! The homebaked rice puding almost made me feel homesick it was that good.

The next morning we had to be up mega early in order to climb out of the canyon and make it to Cruz del Condor in time to see tens of huge condors. Carlitos had told us it would take us 2.5 - 3 hours to make it out of the canyon. I'm not sure what came over me (apart from the fact I generally have a competitive nature) but I had to get to the top in less than 2.5 hours. The climb was steep and was extermely hard work, especially at 5am in the morning, but after 2 hours and 20 minutes and only 2 stops we reached the top. High fives all round..literally I was so pleased with myself.

After breakfast in Cabanaconde we boarded the local bus to Cruz del Condor. The condors were already soaring above our heads as we arrived and it was a sight to behold. They were huge and only feet away from us. I couldn't get my camera out fast enough, not that there was any need to rush as the precession of condors out of the canyon just seemed to keep on coming. They looked so elegant rising on the thermals, barely moving a muscle but reaching higher and higher heights. I could have stayed and watched them all day.

On the way back to Arequipa we stopped at the Hot Springs just outside of Chivay; it was just what our achy muscles needed after 2 days trekking. After bathing in 40 degree water for 45 minutes I felt brand new once again.

We had a delicious buffet lunch in Chivay before returning to Arequipa, which signified the end of our Colca Canyon adventure. After a goodbye coffee with the formidable Carlitos, we made our way to the Cruz del Sur terminal and boarded our night bus to Nazca.

---

Photos

Traditional Dress
I'm not sure why I'm holding a hen or whose dog this is but Edd thought it absolutely hilarious. He could hardly hold the camera still to take the photo!